University of Iowa radio station WSUI, AM 910, will feature "Black Earth and Ivory Tower: New American Essays From Farm and Classroom," edited by Lost Nation, Iowa, native Zachary Jack on the "Live From Prairie Lights' series at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20.

The broadcast, hosted by Julie Englander, will originate as a live event in the Prairie Lights bookstore at 15 S. Dubuque St. in downtown Iowa City. Listen on the Internet at wsui.uiowa.edu.

Jack, a fourth generation farmer's son, will read from the collection, along with two contributors to the volume: Iowa Writers' Workshop alumnus Michael Carey, Iowa's farmer/poet; and UI English faculty member David Hamilton, editor of the Iowa Review.

Gene Logsdon, author of "All Flesh Is Grass: The Pleasures and Promises of Pasture Farming," wrote: "'Black Earth and Ivory Tower' not only depicts accurately the peculiar attitude toward farming shared by those of us who have had one foot on the farm and one in the university, but it also speaks volumes for all farmers. The essays are excellent in their grasp of the realities of the contemporary agrarian experience and in their poignancy about the bittersweet passing of an American way of life."

The English department and the Writers' Workshop are academic units of the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.